Improvement in life-boats



IN G ERSOLL.

Improvement in Life Boat.

PatentedIFeb.-20,L1872.v

UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE.

OLIvER R. INeERsOLL, OE BROOKLYN, AssIGNOR To JOHN JOHNSTON, OE

- NEW YORK, N. Y. A

IMPROVEMENT IN LIFE-BOATS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 123,908, dated February 20, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLIVER R. INeERsOLL, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Life-Boats; and the following I declare to to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a plan of the said life-boat. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section on the line x x.

I am aware that a great number of li fe-boats have been made having many varieties of airchambers and appliances for buoyancy and strength; and I have before made one with a ballast-chamber running all the way across the bottom of the boat, but found that it was impracticable and dangerous to use it in rough water.

My invention consists in the construction and arrangement of the various parts hereinafter described and particularly set forth in the claims.

The boat may be made of any suitable material. The sides a, gunwale b, and keel c are made on any desired lines and of any desired size. In each end of the boat is an air-chamber, d, having its top rounding from the central line to the gunwale, which form aids the boat in righting if she be capsized. Into each of these air-chambers d is let the cock-pit f, of suitable size and depth for aman to stand in and steer the boat. The bottom of these cockpits have slats, and are provided with tubes g connecting with the inside of the boat, serving to drain the water from the cock-pits. Arailing, fender, or hand-loops may be attached near the edges ofthese cock-pits. The bottom of the boat is formed of the longitudinal central chamber Z and the longitudinal chambers k m. The chambers k and m are hermetically sealed, and always contain air. The chamber lis arranged so it can contain either air or water. By means of the valve n water can be admitted at pleasure, the valves o o being Opened to allow the air to escape, and the chamber l made a ballast-chamber 5 and, when necessary, the water can be drawn off by a pump, the valves o o being openedv to admit the air. It is evident that this chamber may be made in two or more compartments, and the valves duplicated accordingly. Passing through the chamber l are vent-tubes r 1^ 1", Which run through the bottom of the boat to allow all the water breaking into the boat to escape through the bottom.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination,in a life-boat, of a central longitudinal ballast-chamber having tubes 1' i" 1" and valves n o with lateral longitudinal air-chambers, substantially as shown and described.

2. In combination with the above, I claim the cock-pitsfj' and tubes g in the end airchambers, as described and shown.

Signed by me this 15th day of January, A. D.

OLIVER. R. INGERSOLL.

Witnesses HAROLD SERRELL, GEO. T. PINOKNEY. 

